Magic Item: Goblin Hooch

Goblins are funny, and in my opinion the 4E ruleset has neither enough low-level consumable items nor enough devices that can be used as a comic relief. Goblins make the best jesters, so I created this cheap little potion to be found within their lairs.

Magic Item: Silver Statue of Bahamut

Another item in Keep on the Shadowfell that I felt needed a boost was the Silver Statues of Bahamut, found near Sir Keegan's tomb. Written as is, I don't think they actually did any special effects at all. Or if they did, they were unremarkable and not very memorable. I wanted these hidden treasures to be a bit of a Chekov's Gun, foreshadowing the finale encounter and filling a starring role in that end piece. The items provided below have a negligible effect on actual game balance, but were clutched tightly in hand when the heroes were tasked with closing the dark ritual or Karax underneath the Keep.

Magic Item: Aecris

I'm in the process of clearing out all the flotsam and jetsam that has been floating around my list of Draft posts, ideas and snippets that I wanted to publish on DMG 42 at some point. Here's one of them.

Back a year or two ago, I ran a group through Keep on the Shadowfell, modified with lots of tweaks suggested by 11 ft. Pole, The Alexandrian, Demon Prince of Undeath, and of course some interesting new terrain powers from myself.

This post details the magic item I handed out when the dungeoneers recovered the enchanted blade of the Keep's last guardian, Sir Keegan's longsword Aecris. I felt like the magic item needed a little bit of pep, a specialty for fighting undead, and a potential dangerous side as it filled the wielder with a potentially fatal fanaticism in fighting undead, eschewing other, more tactical options to fulfill their desire to destroy the walking dead in a sort of reverse marking mechanism.

LCTN: Underground

THIS IS SCENE #4 IN A PLAY-BY-POST D&D GAME

Many elements of it are unique and innovative, with several key twists that will catch the players by surprise. The adventure is deadly and devious, with victory going only to those clever enough to take it. Though it may not be a traditional Fourthcore deathtrap dungeon, I assure you, dear reader, that it holds many of the ideals of Fourthcore close to its heart.

I will keep these posts easily collapsible, so that readers may easily skip past them if they wish. Although, really, you'd be missing out.

Charting the Unknown

At the end of the ancient year two-thousand aught nine, I divined a Dungeons & Dragons campaign entitled "Dragonslayers". Readers here have seen bits and pieces of some of the best parts to come out of that game, such as this and that, but have never seen that of which I was most proud and was most successful in terms of bringing both fun and immersion of exploration into the game world: charting the open seas.

The premise of the campaign was in some ways similar to Chris Perkins' Iomandra Campaign, although I assure you we came up with similar ideas independently. In it, scattered disparate islands on a watery world were kept under the oppressive regime of the Arkhosian Empire. The dungeoneers were the chosen few who could rise up and defeat the Empire. To do so, however, they needed to (among other things) unite the far-flung island communities and become masters of the open seas. The focus of this post is how our group collectively created the mechanics to go about exploring a vast oceanic world.

Siege of Barovia – A Ravenloft Mini Game

In this game, players direct heroes into the village of Barovia in an attempt to free its citizens from the terrible grip of a plague of undeath. Along the way, they will build up town defenses, train militia, and rescue new heroes to swell their ranks. Things won’t be so easy, however, as ghoul raiders, a zombie horde, and the dreaded Count Strahd descends onto the town to wreak havoc and destroy all life.

This game is based upon the Dungeons & Dragons adventures I6: Ravenloft and Expedition to Castle Ravenloft, and takes all images from from www.wizards.com/dnd

LCTN: Exploring the Sanctuary

THIS IS SCENE #3 IN A PLAY-BY-POST D&D GAME

Many elements of it are unique and innovative, with several key twists that will catch the players by surprise. The adventure is deadly and devious, with victory going only to those clever enough to take it. Though it may not be a traditional Fourthcore deathtrap dungeon, I assure you, dear reader, that it holds many of the ideals of Fourthcore close to its heart.

I will keep these posts easily collapsible, so that readers may easily skip past them if they wish. Although, really, you'd be missing out.